The four-day workweek is a mechanism that does not yet function anywhere in the world. However, looking at the data from long-term time sequences, the number of hours worked in OECD countries has been declining regularly since the 1970s. This could potentially lead to the conclusion that sooner or later, the four-day workweek is likely to be implemented. However, it is not a short-term prospect – but rather, one for at least the next decade. Such a change would require processes that would be a period of adaptation to this new work model. Currently, experiments are being conducted in many places around the world – both in individual companies and in various sectors. The largest experiment in the world was conducted in the UK – with dozens of companies participating. It is, therefore, difficult to predict what would happen if the entire economy switched to a four-day work model. It is an approach that greatly improves the well-being of employees – their job satisfaction, decreases employee turnover in these types of companies, and also reduces recruitment challenges, thus companies can more easily fill vacancies. Previous experiments have also shown that employees work more efficiently in the shortened workweek – which means that companies do not lose efficiency compared to the five-day model.
“What stands out from the British experiment is this: one year after its conclusion, nine out of ten companies that participated continue to operate on a four-day model,” Andrzej Kubisiak, Deputy Director of the Polish Economic Institute, told eNewsroom.pl. “These companies were satisfied, and employees wanted to continue functioning within this model. However, it is difficult to implement such a mechanism overnight – it could be somewhat destructive, as individual economies worldwide would gain an advantage over the country that first moved to the four-day model. These are very obvious advantages – related to the number of working hours or labor costs, which increase when the working week is shortened. At the same time, savings are also evident in the research in terms of sick leave – employees who work less often get sick, and they seldom take time off work. For economies, this also means lower greenhouse gas emissions – where workweeks are shorter, emissions during this period are also lower. So the balance is somewhat complicated. Probably the most difficult mechanism in most world economies will be adapting all sectors to this model. Especially, on the health protection systems. In Poland, we have shortages of doctors, nurses – many of these people are approaching retirement age today, and there will be large staff shortages, difficult to fill. However, broadly understood service industry would benefit from the shortened work week – it would gain a large scope for the development of offers, which fills our spare time,” predicts Kubisiak.
Source: https://managerplus.pl/czterodniowy-tydzien-pracy-blizej-czy-dalej-50026
